1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf clubs, and in particular, to a metalwood golf club having a sole plate that is raised to a vertical level at about the center of percussion of the club face to promote increased accuracy and distance on shots.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional golf wood club heads were made of wood, such as laminated maple or a solid block of persimmon, which is cut and sanded into the desired shape. Since the club head was made of solid wood, it was difficult to distribute weight around the club head. Weight distribution around the club head became important because it was realized that proper weight distribution at certain locations of the club head could greatly assist a golfer to hit the ball more accurately, and in some instances, hit the ball further. Some manufacturers were able to drill a hole in the center bottom portion of the club head and add some weight at that point, but there was little else that one could do to distribute weight on a wooden club head.
In the early 1970's, a process was designed for investment cast steel to be shaped in the configuration of a wood club head having a hollow center. Such club heads made from investment cast steel were known as "metalwoods". One important advantage of this process was that weight or mass could be evenly distributed around the outer edges or surfaces of the club head, including the top surface, the rear surface, the sole, the toe and the heel. This essentially expanded the size of the center of percussion or "sweet spot" of the club face, thereby allowing the club head to perform better (i.e., be more "forgiving") to shots that were hit off-center. The weight distribution for most of the earlier metalwoods is concentrated primarily in the club face and the sole. This tends to launch the ball at a higher trajectory because of additional weight being below the ball upon impact.
The next major change in metalwood design was to provide "oversized" metalwoods. The weight distribution did not change, except that the weight was being distributed over a larger area to increase the center of percussion and to provide a larger club face or hitting area for better performance by the average golfer.
Notwithstanding the above developments, numerous attempts were still made to distribute the weight or mass around the club head of a metalwood. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,754,977 to Sahm, 5,058,895 to Igarashi and 5,141,230 to Antonious, U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 192,515 to Henrich, 298,269 to Flood, and 326,886 to Sun et al. and GB 22,113 to Park illustrate club heads having discrete weights either formed or provided on the outer surfaces of the club head. Further examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,214,754 and 4,432,549, both to Zebelean, which illustrate driver club heads in which the thickness or mass of the walls of the club heads is varied to reduce the torque and/or deflection of the club heads. The club heads in U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,329 to Okumoto et al. and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,257,786 and 5,314,185, both to Gorman, have struts or projections provided in the sole plate.
Notwithstanding the above-described efforts and improvements, there still remains a need for a metalwood design which assists the average golfer in hitting the ball further and more accurately.